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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27214549">Heart of Glass</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiaralie/pseuds/Tiaralie'>Tiaralie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>D4DJ Groovy Mix (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(Kinda) Slow Burn, Dalia being a good friend, Dalia doesn't really know what she's doing but she's trying, F/F, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Moving On, Pining, Unrequited Rika/Tsubaki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:28:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27214549</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiaralie/pseuds/Tiaralie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dalia never really thought about love. Not because she did not want to, rather because she never made a place for it in her life. She only watched from afar as her friends basked happily in it.</p>
<p>This notion, so abstract to her, punched her in the face in the most brutal way, in the form of her unit leader appearing at her door in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>Now if only she had known the wild ride she was about to get herself into.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Seto Rika/Matsuyama Dalia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Rikadalia good. me like</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rika was interesting.</p>
<p>This was the one thought Dalia had always expressed towards the energetic leader, and the one that stayed with her, in the back of her mind every time the girl went on about her new crazy antic of the day.</p>
<p>She wasn’t entirely sure what made the girl so interesting, and it was something she still searched the answer to.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but admire Rika for her constant positivity and “good vibes” as she always found a way to sneak in the conversation.</p>
<p>To Dalia, “Rika” and “positive” were going hand in hand. Her brightness was inspiring to all of Merm4id and more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dalia let out a pleased sigh as she set foot out of the bathroom, gently drying her hair with a yellow towel, nicely allowing a last few droplet to roll of her cheeks. She had been pretty busy today, both with college classes and her training at the gym which, coupled with the rampant heatwave of the last few days, rendered her in great need of a well-deserved shower. As for her plans, she wasn’t completely sure.</p>
<p>Maybe watching TV for a bit, but not past 10 pm – she had a shift to work at the bar tomorrow morning.</p>
<p>She did not have anything special to do anyway, so if she couldn’t find anything interesting on TV, she would go straight to bed.</p>
<p>…And after switching through a bunch of channels without any luck, she resigned herself.</p>
<p>Still, she couldn’t recall the last time she watched a movie diligently at home. When she did so, it was at Rika’s, with the rest of Merm4id. They had a lot of fun that day, laughing at bad line delivery and cheesy endings, and it was one of the rare times in which Dalia let herself have fun without any restriction – and she was very much relieved to see there had been no horror movies in their watch list.</p>
<p>She’d have to ask Rika for movie recommendations, sometimes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The night was quiet, peaceful and Dalia’s bed felt oh so comfortable as she slumbered into the newly-washed bedsheets.</p>
<p>Such a perfect night this was going to be…</p>
<p>…is what Dalia would have said, had she not been woken up by the three loud successive knocks on her door. It took about three more to get her to move, the infuriatingly noisy <em>BANGS</em> hammering in her head the same way ceremonial gong would. </p>
<p>Her face lazily turned to the alarm clock, red light piercing through her eyes and slowly shaping into numbers – 3:12 am.</p>
<p>Who in the world was at her door at 3 am?</p>
<p>She took her time to get up, to see if the noises would stop with time, and couldn’t help but sigh when they persisted.</p>
<p>With luck, it was only a neighbor who lost their keys and was too drunk to realize they were at the wrong door.</p>
<p>She had some trouble grabbing her keys and turning the lock, both wanting to get this over with and anxious to see how much time it will take – the sooner the better.</p>
<p>What she did not expect, however, was the identity of the person on the other side.</p>
<p>“Rika…?”</p>
<p>She stared at her unit leader, eyes wide and hands still glued to the handle, unsure of what to do. Questions were slowly cramping up in her head – what was she doing here? Why were her clothes all messed up? And why…</p>
<p>Why was she drunk?</p>
<p>Dalia was far from being a drunkard herself, but she was very much used to seeing customers drunk out of their minds during her various shifts. And, judging from Rika’s red cheeks, her drowsy face and hazy expression, there was no mistaking it.</p>
<p>Now, a drunk Rika was worrying enough – god knows what kind of stupid things she was capable of in this state, but what made it worse was the tears watering down her face, merging with the black of her smeared makeup.</p>
<p>Before any of them could say anything, Rika started shaking, and Dalia almost did the same at the sight. The redhead opened and closed her mouth repetitively, not a single sound coming out safe for heavy breaths, only vaguely whimpering and shaking, shaking, shaking, shaking…</p>
<p>Oh no.</p>
<p>“Dalia…” she almost crumbled into the girl’s arms, holding her so tightly it seemed as her life depended on it, trembling members weakly embracing her neck, tears slowly streaming down her cheeks and wetting Dalia’s naked shoulder.</p>
<p>And Dalia, to say it bluntly, had no idea what to do. She didn’t know what was happening, even less why it was happening, how Rika ended up in this state, and it felt almost overwhelming to her.</p>
<p>She had never seen Rika like this. It was so far from the usual positivity she showed everyone – this distress was new, and she was almost afraid to guess what caused it.</p>
<p>She wasn’t sure if she should ask for answers immediately, so she instead patted the other girl’s head, hesitantly brushed her loose and tangled hair with one hand.</p>
<p>Rika wouldn’t stop crying.</p>
<p>“What’s going on?” Dalia dared to ask in a whisper, because amidst the flow of questions she had, this was the one she chose to ask.</p>
<p>“…ki…” Rika whimpered with her nose buried in her neck what, to her, was unintelligible. “Tsu…Tsubaki…”</p>
<p>Ah.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsubaki Aoyagi. RONDO’s vocalist, extremely talented, almost as cold as she was pretty.</p>
<p>Also happened to be Rika’s childhood friend and long-time crush. The girl never bothered to hide it. She was very vocal about it, whether it was during their daylight hangouts, or during their nights at the bar.</p>
<p>It was like Tsubaki was always there, an overarching presence shadowing over their lives, her name always ready to fall off the tip of Rika’s tongue.</p>
<p>“Tsubaki’s so pretty~!” “Did you see RONDO’s new live? Tsubaki was sooo cool!”</p>
<p>“She’s so perfect…”</p>
<p>“I love her so much…”</p>
<p>But if she had something to do with Rika’s state…it couldn’t be good.</p>
<p>After enough weeping falling on her shoulder, Dalia decided it was a better idea to sit her down somewhere more comfortable, so she could maybe stop having the weight of a 20-year-old girl on her.</p>
<p>She first opted for the sofa, but went against it soon after seeing how tiny it was. Drunk Rika needed to move, to roll around everywhere to express her feelings – more importantly, to complain when she was cold.</p>
<p>Right. The bed was her best bet.</p>
<p>“C’mon, Rika…” Dalia huffed, painfully carrying her along towards her bedroom, “time to go…”</p>
<p>She only heard Rika whine in response, but she didn’t complain about being handled like this.</p>
<p>Just how much she was affected, the dancer couldn’t say for sure yet, but she didn’t even look like her usual happy drunk self, she was straight up sad drunk.</p>
<p>Maybe she should stop thinking about it, only ask questions once Rika was able to answer them.</p>
<p>She had no idea when that was going to be the case, but she could do the bare minimum. Even a simple yes or no would suffice.</p>
<p>Rika plopped down on the bedsheets, arms instinctively reaching for the pillow above her head and burying her face into it, weeping once again.</p>
<p>Dalia held back a sad sigh. “I’m coming back, okay?”</p>
<p>Water. As she shut the door, her mind went to the image of pure, clean water. That wouldn’t solve all of Rika’s problems, but it would at least help her get her mind back on track.</p>
<p>…A little. She hoped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The water stream flowed out of the tap, and Dalia watched as it took its sweet time to fill the glass, wondered, once again, what happened to Rika.</p>
<p>She never heard any stories of her leader banging at someone else’s door at an impromptu time. As far as anyone was concerned, Rika always woke up in her bed, ready to start the day hungover.</p>
<p>But Tsubaki…</p>
<p>She snapped out of her thoughts soon after the glass was full, turning the water off while cursing to herself. She really needed to chill out about this.</p>
<p>Of course, she was worried about Rika. Rika was a friend, a very important one. Seeing her like this made her stomach ache and twist, and what she wanted to do most was help.</p>
<p>Her footsteps echoed in the bedroom, as she noticed Rika’s body still unmoved on the bed, this time facing the ceiling, eyes empty, now dried of tears.</p>
<p>Dalia found herself frowning in concern.</p>
<p>“Here.” She sat on the edge of the bed, handing Rika the glass. “You need to drink.”</p>
<p>The girl eyed it with an emotionless gaze, before a few blinks brought back the light in her pupils. She offered her unitmate a weak smile and reached for the drink.</p>
<p>Dalia was most impressed to see her gulp down the water in one go.</p>
<p>Her ability to hold her drink had always been impressive, now that she thought about it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She seemed…calmer, now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Dalia asked after a few moments of silence.</p>
<p>Rika tapped her fingers against the glass, in a rhythm that wasn’t so far off from the Floor Killer intro. She was staring at it, at the wall – and finally, locked eyes with Dalia.</p>
<p>“It’s…Tsubaki…” she muttered in a monotone voice, so far off from her usual cheery tone. Her breath trembled, her grip on the glass tightening, “she…she doesn’t…”</p>
<p>Dalia waited, stayed silent as the tears came back to the redhead’s eyes.</p>
<p>“Do you need a–”</p>
<p>“She doesn’t love me!” she cried out in a single breath, burying her face in her hands and gripping her hair so tightly it could almost be ripped apart.</p>
<p>Dalia caught the glass soon before it bad a chance to fall, and immediately turned her eyes to Rika, wide open. She wasn’t even sure she heard that right, rather, had trouble understanding the implications – Rika wasn’t one to shy away from her feelings…did she take the leap concerning her love?</p>
<p>“Rika.” Dalia spoke slowly, put her hand on the other girl’s shoulder. “How do you know that?”</p>
<p>The redhead wiped her tears with her hand, blew out a huge chunk of air. “We were together at a bar and – and I thought ‘hey, what if I told her?’ and then she rejected me and, and…and then she left and – and…”</p>
<p>The rest of the sentence died in her throat, and soon after, she was back to silence, heavy breaths the only thing filling this void. Still, it didn’t feel awkward in the slightest. Rather, Dalia would gladly let Rika rest like this if it meant that she could feel better.</p>
<p>“I love her, Dalia…” she said again, voice cracking, lips curling into a sad smile that meant nothing. “I always have…”</p>
<p>Dalia turned her head away, thought about reaching for the box of tissues on her shelf, but the motion her arm initiated was stopped once she felt a weight on her lap.</p>
<p>Her eyes were drawn to the humming noises, which found their way to the ginger-colored mess that was Rika’s hair.</p>
<p>“Are you okay?” was by far the only thing Dalia could ask, even though it was stupid because no, she obviously wasn’t okay.</p>
<p>How was anyone supposed to help in that situation? What could she say to make her friend feel better?</p>
<p>“’ired…” Rika spat out in a slurred voice, “’m tired…”</p>
<p>Dalia found herself smiling soon after. Of course, she would be exhausted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The door closed behind her back as Dalia exited her room. She sighed heavily, head dropping backwards against the hard wood and hands refusing to let go of the handle. </p>
<p>She hadn’t been able to do much, in the end.</p>
<p>Rika fell asleep in her bed, after asking her friend to help stripping her out of her clothes.</p>
<p>It had been kind of awkward, with how much movements Rika was doing and the fact she simply couldn’t stay still, but Dalia managed.</p>
<p>Looking back, she did give Rika her bed to sleep comfortably. The realization made her frown.</p>
<p>Well.</p>
<p>Guess she was sleeping on the couch.</p>
<p>So much for her good night rest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rika’s face was still on the back of her mind when she closed her eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The noise of the coffee machine had Dalia’s nose crinkling so early in the morning, coupled with the dim light of the rising sun that threatened her eyes.</p>
<p>Her couch was far from uncomfortable, but it didn’t stop her back from being nearly destroyed – even though her position was carefully thought out…</p>
<p>The only thing she hoped was for her brain to cooperate at least this morning, or else her shift at the bar was going to end much sooner than she wanted it to.</p>
<p>The black of the liquid reflected her face as she mindlessly stirred it with a spoon.</p>
<p>A yawn escaped her before she realized it, a little before she heard the sound of a door cracking – damn, she needed to fix that.</p>
<p>She almost forgot someone else was occupying the apartment, if that wasn’t for the flash of red that appeared in the corner of her eye as the leader of Merm4id entered the room.</p>
<p>It was quite a funny sight, to see Rika in one of Dalia’s shirt – a little too big for her, obviously, but she had still felt the need to leave something on her bed – and, from the looks of it, black panties.</p>
<p>Her hair kept untied was a lot wilder and full of spikes than she’d imagined it could be.</p>
<p>But it was fitting, somehow.</p>
<p>“Hello~…” she said, voice hoarse and raspy from all the liquor she must have drank the night before. The poor girl was reduced to whispers.</p>
<p>She still smiled at Dalia through her tired features.</p>
<p>Dalia mimicked the gesture. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”</p>
<p>Rika hummed, leaning over on the table and plopping her face down between her crossed arms. The sigh she let out, contrary to what the small bags under her eyes seemed to indicate, was actually a pretty pleased one.</p>
<p>“Yup!” she smiled, “Your bed is super comfortable! And it smells good, too!”</p>
<p>Dalia moved a chair to sit down in front of her friend. Looking a bit more, the smudged makeup didn’t have the time to fade away, and all the tears she cried in her sleep left marks down her cheeks. Dalia wasn’t sure what to think of it, if she should feel bad or relieved – if these were marks that it was all over, or that it <em>happened</em> to begin with.</p>
<p>This weird, unknown situation which she couldn’t even understand anything about.</p>
<p>Without a word, Dalia slid the coffee cup she just finished making across the table, next to Rika. The steam came to titillate the girl’s nose, an annoyed groan escaped her lips as she directed her eyes toward the brown substance. Judging by how the grimace that twisted her features, she was far from what one would consider <em>awake</em>.</p>
<p>Dalia was right – she needed that coffee way more than her.</p>
<p>“You can drink it.” she said before Rika could even ask anything, and did as far as push the cup further.</p>
<p>Rika blinked a few times, and before long she had that same glimmer of light back in her eyes. The way she took the cup, though – with unsure, trembling hands – was far from blowing all the worries away.</p>
<p>Dalia’s stomach received a heavy punch – she barely felt it, but it hurt her all the same.</p>
<p>She knew she probably needed to stop thinking about this, to stop letting the memories of last night haunt her in every action Rika made.</p>
<p>But – but how could she, when it was there, right in front of her? When it affected her friend so obviously?</p>
<p>Rika sipped her tea, burning her tongue in the process and breathing out heavily.</p>
<p>“Sorry, maybe I made it too hot?” Dalia quickly checked the temperature of the cup – she wasn’t used to having other people taste her coffee, and had the habit of making it hotter than average, sometimes.</p>
<p>Rika dismissed the thought with a wave of the hand. “No – no, it’s fine! It’s good to wake me up!”</p>
<p>She giggled, holding up the cup again, an awkward grin on her lips.</p>
<p>Dalia found herself smiling, and was it out of joy or pity, her mind couldn’t decide just yet.</p>
<p>After a bit of mindless staring, she decided to leave her unitmate be and prepare for the day.</p>
<p>She still wondered what she was going to do – her shift started soon, and it would not feel right to kick Rika out after she just woke up.</p>
<p>As she put on a pair of black jeans, an idea came to her, and she quickly made a detour to the coffee table in the living room, upon which a tiny bowl was resting. Also happened to be where she kept the double of her keys.</p>
<p>A grimace spread across her face – she had never done this before, but there was a first for everything, right?</p>
<p>She put them down on the table, the clicking noises making Rika’s eyes shift towards them, after which she stared at Dalia in confusion. There was a coffee stain on the counter – ah, she could always wipe it away later.</p>
<p>“I need to go, so you can take them, okay?”</p>
<p>Rika seemed at a loss for words, mouth opening and closing a few times before finally speaking, “But…why?”</p>
<p>“I can’t kick you out, now can I?” Dalia gave her a few pats on the head, her fingers reaching in between the messy strands of hair – it was something she was Marika do to Saori a bunch of times, when she was feeling down.</p>
<p>She did notice the way Rika blushed at that, and immediately retracted her hand. If she somehow did something wrong, she did not know, nor did she want to bring the topic on the table.</p>
<p>“A-Anyways…” she coughed, shoving her hands in her pockets, “I’m going to work, so just make yourself at home and leave whenever you feel like it. You can give me back the keys whenever.”</p>
<p>She punctuated it with a small smile, still unsure about this – she had never given her keys to anyone else, but she knew Rika was trustworthy. There was still a slight risk she could lose them, but it would not be the end of the world.</p>
<p>Yeah, it would be fine…</p>
<p>“Well if that’s fine with you…thanks!” Rika grabbed the keys and dangled them in front of her eyes from a few instants, chuckling idly.</p>
<p>The fist that has been punching Dalia’s stomach for the past night disappeared at the sight. As long as she was sure that her friend could stay safe and sound somewhere, everything was okay with her. Of course, she was still a little anxious about having the girl be left alone, but it was not like she could do anything else.</p>
<p>“Okay, so I’ll be on my way—” Dalia spoke up, but the rest of her sentence got lost in her throat when Rika suddenly jumped up on her feet and kissed her on the cheek.</p>
<p>Dalia was not sure whether to be surprised or flustered. “Hum…”</p>
<p>“Ah—!” Rika saw her friend’s cheeks tainted in a light pink and immediately felt her own redden. “Sorry, I—it’s just—I didn’t mean to…”</p>
<p>Dalia saw how she was almost hyperventilating, and amidst all her confusion, she managed to grab Rika’s shoulders and tried to lock eyes with her. “H-Hey…calm down. It’s not the first time you kiss me on the cheek, why are you reacting like this?”</p>
<p>Rika sighed, trying to calm herself down. “Nah, it’s nothing…I don’t really know…”</p>
<p>“Are you sure it’s okay? I can always skip work if you need to—”</p>
<p>“Wha—no! I’m fine, I swear! It’s already really nice of you to let me stay, you don’t need to do more!”</p>
<p>Dalia eyed her suspiciously, analyzing her facial features – the way her lips were quivering, how her eyes had this glassy effect to them.</p>
<p>She took one look at her watch, and after letting out a heavy sigh, she patted Rika’s head and weakly smiled at her.</p>
<p>“Okay. Call me if you ever need anything, yeah?”</p>
<p>Rika smiled back, “Sure!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>It’s probably a mistake</em>, Dalia kept telling herself on the way.</p>
<p>And yet even with all these worries in her mind, she still came to work and tried to do her job as best as possible. Thankfully, no major mistakes had been made yet, except maybe for that one almost broken glass that slipped out of her hands.</p>
<p>She was, however, kind of surprised to receive a text from Marika, even though she was pretty sure the girl knew she was at work. For an instant, her blood ran cold, and she wondered if it had something to do with Rika.</p>
<p>Thankfully, it wasn’t – just a question regarding their practice schedule for tomorrow. And she was almost ashamed of her reaction at first; after all there was no reason for her to be stressed – if anyone had a question about Rika, then she would just have to answer. Maybe not a hundred percent <em>truthfully</em>, but still.</p>
<p>From the corner of her eye, she saw an apparent new customer coming by the counter. As she was opening her mouth to greet them, the near sight of who it was stopped her in her track.</p>
<p>The person seemed to have done the same, as Dalia saw a pair of grey eyes widen at her. “Dalia…Matsuyama?”</p>
<p>“<em>T-Tsubaki</em>…” Dalia whispered, more to herself, but definitely loud enough of the girl next to her to hear.</p>
<p><em>Great</em>. Just her luck. Technically, it was not so impossible to think RONDO’s vocalist would happen to pass by her workplace – if she recalled, it was quite close to the livehouse she performed at.</p>
<p>But it was still pretty awkward. Dalia knew Tsubaki was a nice person, she just did not know how to react to her presence after, well – <em>everything</em> that happened last night.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know you worked here.” Tsubaki simply said, though a tinge of nervousness could be heard in her voice.</p>
<p>“Ah, yes.” Dalia tried her best to answer naturally, but sadly she had no idea if this had the wanted effect. <em>Better get this conversation over with quickly</em>. “What can I get you?”</p>
<p>“Oh, just a coffee, please. Takeout, I’ll drink it on the way.”</p>
<p>Dalia nodded and hurriedly prepared the request, moving her hands swiftly and with precision, trying to ignore who was behind her. Because, really, she had no right to resent the vocalist, or even to be mad at her. It was her right to not love Rika back, and even though she had not handled the situation in the best way possible, Dalia had to admit that she wouldn’t have known how to react, had she been with Rika in her place.</p>
<p>“Here,” she slid the coffee in front of Tsubaki, smiling at her in way she hoped looked genuine to her.</p>
<p>The girl shyly smiled back, getting her money ready on the counter. “Thank you,” she said, and after a few more instants of not moving, she lifted her head back up, looked at Dalia in the eyes. “Sorry to ask you this while you’re at work, but…Do you, perhaps, have any news about Rika?”</p>
<p>Dalia tried to contain her surprise, hoping her eyes would not say too much in her place, “W-Well…kind of.” She was not sure she wanted to inform Tsubaki of the situation, but the girl was part of the problem. “She’s not doing too good.”</p>
<p>Tsubaki bit her lip, tightening the grasp on her cup. “A-Ah…I see. She doesn’t answer my calls, so I was starting to get worried.”</p>
<p>“…I don’t want to sound rude, but I don’t think she wants to talk to you right now.” Dalia let out, even after seeing how genuinely worried Tsubaki looked. “Not <em>yet</em>.”</p>
<p>“I-I see…I understand.” She smiled, although it was out of sadness. “I’ll wait, then. I just…hope I didn’t hurt her.”</p>
<p><em>You sure did, tough</em>. “Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll contact you soon.”</p>
<p>“Right. Thank you…have a good day.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That was certainly not what she expected today.</p>
<p>Dalia was kind of ashamed to think that she would have rather not talked to Tsubaki, because now she just felt trapped in the middle of her and Rika, and, of course, she felt a need to help the situation.</p>
<p>After all, if Tsubaki was willing to talk to her again, wouldn’t it be a good idea to simply incite Rika to go to her?</p>
<p>…Stupid question. <em>Of course</em>, it would, but taking in Rika’s current status, this was going to be hard to achieve.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was only at the end of her shift that she noticed a familiar silhouette approach her as she was getting ready to head out.</p>
<p>“Rika?”</p>
<p>The girl hurriedly ran towards her as she heard her name. “Hey~!” Judging from the sweat dripping from her forehead and the rather red color her face had, she was clearly exhausted. “So glad I made it! You’re done with work, right?”</p>
<p>“Yea…but what are you doing here?”</p>
<p>Rika’s eyes glittered at the question, and she took a pair of sliver keys out of her pockets. “Wanted to give these back!”</p>
<p>Dalia stared at the object, slightly confused. “You…could have gave them back tomorrow, you know?”</p>
<p>“<em>Oh</em>.” Rika processed the thought, before flushing with embarrassment. “I, uh – kinda forgot we had practice tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Dalia could not help the chuckle that escaped her lips. With one hand, she took the keys and observed them for a few instants.</p>
<p>“It’s fine, don’t worry. Want me to drive you back to your place?”</p>
<p>“Well, if you don’t mind~…”</p>
<p>The ride to Rika’s apartment was nothing special. Though Dalia did take notice of the fact Rika did not take the chance to speak as often as she usually did – <em>nothing special</em>, she kept almost yelling to herself, because otherwise she would have gone insane by now.</p>
<p>During the whole ride, she hesitated to bring Tsubaki up. Part of her thought this was a terrible idea, while the other believed it was better for the two girls to talk as soon as possible. And she knew, she really did, that latter was the better option.</p>
<p>She did not tell her.</p>
<p>“Will you be okay?” Dalia asked as they both got out of the car, seeing Rika stretch on the pavement.</p>
<p>“Yup~! Thanks again, Dalia!”</p>
<p>Her smile was cute. Maybe not as charming as it usually was, but cute nonetheless.</p>
<p>“And by the way…” Rika coughed, playing with her fingers, “sorry again that you had to see me like <em>that</em> yesterday. Not my best moment, I know…”</p>
<p>Though she ended it with a laugh, there was a very visible bitterness in her words.</p>
<p>“Well, it’s okay. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you, so…trust me, I don’t mind at all.”</p>
<p>“T-Thanks…” Rika blushed, “It’s still kinda hard…There’s a part of my mind that keeps relaying the scene, y’know…s-so…”</p>
<p>The girl stopped talking the moment she felt something wet forming in the corner of her eye, and as a swear escaped her lips, she quickly wiped it away with her sleeve.</p>
<p>“A-Anyways! Real bummer, am I right…”</p>
<p>Dalia furrowed her brows at that scene, at Rika’s attempt not to break down in front of her <em>again</em>. A new punch attacked her stomach, this time stronger than the other she felt before.</p>
<p>“You know what,” Dalia abruptly said, handing her the keys like she did in the morning, “Take them. You can keep them.”</p>
<p>Rika didn’t properly react immediately, her eyes focusing on the shining object, blinking and unsure if she heard that right.</p>
<p>“Are you sure?” she finally asked, now staring anxiously at her friend, “Why?”</p>
<p>Dalia resisted the urge to scratch her arm, instead laying her right hand on the wall and tapping the stone – a way to mindlessly keep herself busy.</p>
<p>“I’m…I don’t really know what I can do to help with the situation, so…” she inhaled heavily while choosing her next words, “If you ever need a place to stay at after a party, or—or if you just feel lonely…you can come to me, okay?”</p>
<p>She let out a breath so long it was as if she had been holding it for far too long, and hesitantly smiled at Rika. She wasn’t sure herself that it was a good idea, but she wanted to do <em>something</em> to help, and since she had no idea what it was like to experience a heartbreak, there wasn’t much else to do.</p>
<p>Was moral support going to be enough? She had no idea – she sure <em>hoped</em> it would be.</p>
<p>Rika’s distress still resided there, in her head, as an obscure image that surfaced every so often.</p>
<p>She didn’t want that sort of expression to taint her friend’s face ever again.</p>
<p>It was so strange, for her to feel this strongly about someone else and their problems.</p>
<p>By no means did she dislike that, it was just…new. New, to have someone to care about that much outside of her own family.</p>
<p>She heard the metal clinging, and a second later Rika was dangling the keys in front of her.</p>
<p>“Thanks!” she giggled; a smile Dalia recognized painting her lips. “That’s really nice of you, Dalia.”</p>
<p>“You’d do the same for me,” she said, and she meant it, because it was Rika, and she knew for a fact Rika would go to hell and back for any member of Merm4id.</p>
<p>“Say,” Rika spoke up again, a bit more unsure, if the slight quivering of her upper lip was anything to go by, “do you think we can keep what happened between us?”</p>
<p>Dalia’s arms fell at her sides as she took in the implications of her friend’s request. Saying she was confused was an understatement, because she could not even phantom the idea of not telling Marika and Saori about any of this.</p>
<p>“Why?” she asked, and guessed her eyes betrayed her suspicion – and were probably a lot more expressive than she wanted them to be, because Rika’s head jerked to the side to evade her gaze.</p>
<p>“I just…don’t want them to worry about me, you know?” she busied herself playing with the keys, scratching her broken nails against the cold metal. “Wouldn’t want them to think I’m not okay.”</p>
<p>Dalia’s heart sank in her chest, and this time she was pretty sure her eyes spoke out her outrage very well. “But—you’re not. <em>You’re not okay</em>.”</p>
<p><em>No answer</em>. Only empty smiles and blank gazes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rika entered her apartment shortly after.</p>
<p>She did not say anything relating the situation, only thanked Dalia for everything once more.</p>
<p>And really, Dalia didn’t dislike this. It could have been reassuring, to see that she was apparently okay.</p>
<p>She, however, still felt the need to do something to make sure she could, if needed, let her feelings out in a manner that did not involve incontrollable sobbing and getting drunk.</p>
<p>If it was Marika, the two of them would probably go out shopping or maybe taste some pastries at a local café. But Rika did not want to tell Marika about what happened, and while Dalia was sure the pair would still go out often, it was not something she could do.</p>
<p>After a quite a long time of contemplation and rejected ideas, something came to her, and she immediately reached for her phone to propose the idea to her friend.</p>
<p>It was time for Rika to punch her feelings out.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>We do be advancing at snail pace<br/>At least we're advancing</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey everyone, very glad to be back *crowd boos*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, you and Rika are going on a date~?”</p>
<p>Marika came by her side before she could even notice it, tiptoeing quickly with a fake innocent smile on her face.</p>
<p>Dalia smiled awkwardly. “It’s not a date. I’m just taking her to the gym.”</p>
<p>At least she did not have to lie about that part – even though she could have avoided talking about it at all, had Rika said nothing. But she was not going to hold that against her; the girl was chatty by nature.</p>
<p>She <em>did</em> ask Rika out to the gym. They were supposed to go today, after practice. With that, she hoped she could get things to advance…somehow. She wasn’t going to pretend she had the whole thing planned out – because she sure did <em>not</em> – but it was fine to assume she at least knew what she was going to say to Rika.</p>
<p>Inspirational quotes had never been her thing, but that wasn’t going to stop her.</p>
<p>Dalia barely noticed Marika staring at her with a suspicious look on her face.</p>
<p>“Something wrong?”</p>
<p>“Nothing…It’s just – you never asked Marika to go to the gym with you~…” the girl said, putting her hands on her cheeks in a dramatic motion. Very convincing, you could almost imagine the tears ready to flow out.</p>
<p>Dalia gave her head a few head pats. “Sorry, sorry. Another time, okay?”</p>
<p>Marika’s nod was satisfying enough for her to leave the conversation there, but she could tell that this was not the only thing her unit mate wanted to comment on in regards to this little outing of theirs.</p>
<p>Dalia was far from a fan of hiding things from others, but as long as they didn’t ask too many questions, she wouldn’t have to face the conflict.</p>
<p>If she could miraculously fix everything before that, it would be fine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rika was waiting for her outside the building, idly sitting on a nearby bench and staring at her phone.</p>
<p>She jumped out of her sit the second Dalia’s face was in view and almost sprang towards her.</p>
<p>“<em>Da~li~a~!”</em> she shouted, pouting as she practically shoved the phone to her friend’s face – prompting her to look at the clock. “You’re slooow! Can you believe I finished changing before you~?!”</p>
<p>“Right – sorry. Marika wanted to ask me something.”</p>
<p>“O~h, I see…” Rika retracted the phone and put it in her pocket. “Was it about the gym?”</p>
<p>Dalia nodded. “Looks like I’m gonna have to take her there, too.”</p>
<p>“Maybe you could take us all to the gym sometime! I’m sure that would be super fun!”</p>
<p>She pondered the thought. Practice sessions with Ibuki and Yuka were always more fun than when she was on her own. But she wondered if acting as a coach for four different people was really a good idea.</p>
<p>Ah, well. Rika was probably right, it would be fun – or <em>eventful</em>, at least. It always was, when all four of them were together.</p>
<p>And it was a nice feeling to have, too. As if she did not need to worry about anything. Merm4id had that kind of effect on her – she could appreciate that.</p>
<p>On the topic of <em>not worrying</em> – the fact that Rika did not ask her anything about their trip to the gym did make her anxious. She assumed the girl was either not very invested or simply not one for asking questions, which…seemed very on point, now that she thought about it.</p>
<p>Dalia shrugged and loosened her heavy shoulders, face skywards. She was doing this to get Rika’s mind off of everything, there was no need to fill her own with useless bad predictions.</p>
<p>“It’s so big!” Rika exclaimed as they were waiting by the reception desk. She could see the various training equipment and people exercising, her eyes sparkling with excitement.</p>
<p>Dalia side-eyed her after checking in with the receptionist, watching as her legs were bouncing in place – she looked like she was raring to go.</p>
<p><em>Good</em>.</p>
<p> “Never went to the gym before?” she asked as she guided her friend to the changing room.</p>
<p>Rika scratched her chin. “No~…I do outdoor training with my volleyball team, but that’s about it.”</p>
<p>Dalia appeared a bit surprised at that, but she was not sure she should be – she could not really expect everyone to go to the gym as often as she did.</p>
<p>That also meant she did not know what to expect from Rika’s abilities, but if he judged solely from Rika’s performance during the few volleyball games she attended, the girl had some strength in her arms – ideal for punching things, really.</p>
<p>Dalia casually got to put on her gym clothes once they entered the changing room, letting her bag flop on the bench next to her. She heard Rika hum joyfully near her, and the fast-paced tapping of her feet against the floor filled the silence, something that none of them was apparently willing to do.</p>
<p>Outfit fully put on; Dalia worked on tying her hair up – she had become quite effective when it came to changing fast – and her arms barely had the time to fall back along her body before being grabbed by a pair of warm hands.</p>
<p>She jerked her head to the side, to Rika, who was apparently fascinated by…whatever she was looking at.</p>
<p>“…Is there something wrong?”</p>
<p>After some more seconds of not wavering her eyes, the redhead frantically shook her head, blinked a few times. Quickly, she retracted her hands in a gasp, nervously trying to find somewhere else to put them.</p>
<p>She settled for her hair, idly playing with some red locks as she laughed.</p>
<p>“Sorry, hehe~…It’ just…I’ve never noticed, but you’ve got some nice muscles!” crouching down a bit, her palm came to brush over her friend’s exposed torso. “And not just your arms!”</p>
<p>Not really knowing how to react – she still wasn’t very used to people touching her out of the blue like that, even though it definitely wasn’t the first time she had Rika’s hands on her – Dalia awkwardly giggled, leaving some space between her and the leader.</p>
<p>Still, part of her didn’t get why Rika was so…surprised. Yes, her stage costume covered most of her torso, but her arms were pretty much always on display.</p>
<p>“Well, I <em>do</em> train a lot. I could show you how I break bricks with my hands, one of these days.” she chuckled, more as a joke than as anything serious.</p>
<p>But judging from the way Rika’s eyes were sparkling as she spoke, something was telling her she would have to be true to her words at some point.</p>
<p>Ah, well. It wasn’t like it would be a bother.</p>
<p>She’d do it in a heartbeat if it could make Rika smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, what do we do?” the girl excitedly asked, looking around everywhere in the gym as to try and find out which activity they’ll try first.</p>
<p>With a snort of amusement, Dalia walked past her, making a sign for her friend to follow. They quickly arrived to an area filled with people using punching bags – and it sure looked like some of them held a strong grudge against the poor objects.</p>
<p>Sounds of blasting fists and the smell of sweat was nothing new to her, but taking one sneaky look at Rika, she could tell the girl was pretty impressed by all the action going on. Her arms and legs were all slightly shivering with excitement as the smile on her face could not be repressed.</p>
<p>Dalia bonked the back of her head with a red boxing glove, dangling it in front of the girl’s face and waiting for her to grab it.</p>
<p>Rika did not wait to do so, and for a split-second Dalia couldn’t help but notice how cat-like her reflexes were.</p>
<p><em>Cute</em>.</p>
<p>“Do I punch it?” Rika asked, eyes on the punching ball and struggling a bit to make sure she had put on the glove correctly.</p>
<p>Dalia nodded. “Yes. It’s a great way to get your feelings out, you know.”</p>
<p>As to make her point clear, she turned her head to the dude in the background screaming his lungs out with each punch he threw.</p>
<p>She heard Rika hum, understanding, and it was only after turning back that she noticed her leader squinting her eyes at her, oddly suspicious.</p>
<p>“A problem?”</p>
<p>“Nah, but…” she weakly hit the bag, “do you really think it works? I mean, I never punch things when I’m angry, so~…”</p>
<p>“It’s not really about being angry…” Dalia approached her, put her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “it’s just better than getting drunk, don’t you think?”</p>
<p>Maybe it sounded like a jab, she wasn’t so sure – it wasn’t a habit of her to check her tone after speaking. The words came out before she had a chance to think more about it, mainly because this exact thought had been the reason she had been losing sleep the past few days, and at that point she did not want to beat around the bush.</p>
<p>Thankfully, Rika did not look offended in the slightest, and the weak smile she offered her briefly reminded her of the way she gazed at her a few days ago…</p>
<p>Dalia shook her head. <em>No</em>. They were here to erase that memory completely today.</p>
<p>“Okay.” Rika said, inhaling deeply as she banged her fists together, “I’ll try!”</p>
<p>Dalia put her hand on top of the punching bag, a serious look on her face as a part of her couldn’t repress a smug smile, hoping that her method would be successful.</p>
<p>“Now, before you start punching…I need you to tell me, what does Tsubaki’s rejection make you feel?”</p>
<p>She knew it would probably be a hard thing to put into words, it would be painful – she was aware, truly, perhaps too much even.</p>
<p>But she trusted Rika, believed she could go through this same pain.</p>
<p>“It…hurts.” the girl murmured, chuckling sadly. “A lot. A-And I don’t even know if that’s the right word, you know? Because I start thinking about her and suddenly everything around me feels awful and I remember what she said and how she said it – and…”</p>
<p>Her eyes fell on the punching ball. “And…”</p>
<p>Dalia took a step back, slowly, retracting her hand and waiting.</p>
<p><em>Waiting</em>.</p>
<p>She nodded.</p>
<p>And Rika threw the first punch.</p>
<p>She wasn’t expecting it to be anything special – not strong nor rage-filled, not enough to even make the bag move.</p>
<p>But the sound that resulted in that punch was enough to make her flinch.</p>
<p>Of course, it wasn’t nearly as powerful as those of the other people in the room. But through it, she felt a type of strength, different from everyone else’s – fueled by the desire to muffle a scream.</p>
<p>Another punch quickly followed.</p>
<p>And another.</p>
<p>Again.</p>
<p>And again.</p>
<p>She barely had time to see the girl’s face each time – which made the droplets of sweat on the floor even more indistinguishable from possible tears.</p>
<p>“I don’t wanna be mad at her…” Rika exhaled in between each punch, “I know I can’t…”</p>
<p>She planted both of her fists on the punching bag, letting out a hoarse scream from the depths of her throat and almost falling to her knees.</p>
<p>“But it <em>hurts</em>!”</p>
<p>Dalia quickly came to her side, using her right hand to massage her friend’s back.</p>
<p>“Do you want to stop?”</p>
<p>Rika shook her head, “No…I dunno how to explain, but…It feels good?”</p>
<p>“Then it’s working.”</p>
<p>The redhead took some time to breathe properly, throwing her head back to let droplets of sweat fall down her face.</p>
<p>Rika was far from a very muscly person; rather, she was more on the slander side. And even then, there were some semblances of muscle appearing on her arms – no doubt that her punches could be fierce if she put in the effort.</p>
<p>And her legs…it was easy to guess they were so toned thanks to all the running and jumping volleyball allowed her to do.</p>
<p>She was really pretty, there was no denying it. Maybe if they worked out more together, Rika could one day be as strong as her.</p>
<p>…If she wanted to be, of course.</p>
<p>Rika punched for a good fifteen minutes before withdrawing, letting herself fall flat on the tatami mats at her feet. A long groan escaped from her lips as she stared at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes, her face almost as red as her hair. She kicked the air with remarkably low strength, arms flat on the ground.</p>
<p>She looked more like mollusk than a human. There was something cute in that.</p>
<p>“Need a hand?” Dalia asked, holding out her hand.</p>
<p>Rika whined when her friend’s face suddenly appeared above hers, but she did not complain, only pouted and lazily reached out for the hand that was offered to her.</p>
<p>Dalia lifted her up so easily she could not help the surprised gasp she let out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“…I saw Tsubaki, a few days ago.” Dalia said out of the blue, once they were back in the locker room and Rika was in the middle of changing.</p>
<p>The girl blinked a few times, slowly, her hands hastily leaving the shirt she had just put on. “What…?”</p>
<p>Dalia jerked her head to the side, trying to find the right words – she was not able to keep this to herself any longer, and seeing as Rika was in a better space, there was less risk in telling her that.</p>
<p>There was only one way for her to avoid relapsing, and it involved Tsubaki, whether it was easy or not.</p>
<p>“It was at the bar; she didn’t know I would be there.” she explained, taking a few steps forward.</p>
<p>“What did she say?” Rika did not move, but she did look curious – and her eyes were shining.</p>
<p>“She’s worried about you. She’s been trying to contact you, and she’d like to see you.”</p>
<p>Rika frowned, her lower lip quivering.</p>
<p>“She’s worried, Rika.” Dalia repeated, hesitantly reaching to grab her friend’s shoulder.</p>
<p>Before she could finish the motion, Rika grabbed her wrist and slowly brushed her fingers over the other’s hand, apparently stuck on whether or not she should intertwine the two. Yet this did not even seem to be her biggest issue – the way she was sinking her nails into Dalia’s skin was much more telling of what was bothering her.</p>
<p>“Rika…”</p>
<p>“It’s…kinda hard.” the girl exhaled, shortly releasing her hold on Dalia’s hand before grasping it full force a second later, “I’m not sure I can talk to her…”</p>
<p>Dalia eyed the hand that was in hers, contemplating tugging on it and bringing Rika closer. Words were not coming to her as easily as she wanted them to – and perhaps she could communicate her sympathy better with actions.</p>
<p>But – would that cross a line? She was far from a touchy person, usually…</p>
<p>“What makes you so afraid to talk to her?” she finally chose to ask.</p>
<p>Rika’s nails dug deeper in her skin, but at that point she did not care nor mind anymore. “I don’t really know…But I dunno if I’ll ever get over her…”</p>
<p>That sure was…a statement. Dalia wished she could understand that feeling, wished she ever loved someone that much so she could be a better advisor.</p>
<p>“What makes you say that?”</p>
<p>“It’s hard. To forget someone you loved for long.” Rika chuckled, feeling her body tense up. Her eyes flickered everywhere before locking on Dalia’s face. “Ah—! Sorry, I’m sulking again…!” she sighed, “you really shouldn’t have to see me all moody…”</p>
<p>Dalia stared. It was far from the first time Rika apologized for her behavior – she still didn’t want to understand that there was no need for apologies, not when she was only feeling things that were expected and <em>normal</em>.</p>
<p>But it was probably new to her, too. She had no idea if Rika ever felt like this before – neither did she ask about it. There was no doubt that she felt pain in the past, just like everyone else.</p>
<p>Heartbreak was new.</p>
<p>Dalia wouldn’t pretend she had every answer Rika needed, especially not about how she should react to whatever Tsubaki wanted to discuss with her. But one thing she <em>knew</em>, however, was that it was a necessary step.</p>
<p>She sighed and, without thinking, decided to tug on Rika’s wrist, bringing them closer, the redhead’s face right against Dalia’s shoulder.</p>
<p>Rika yelped in surprise, but did not try to pull away, rather choosing to rest her hand on Dalia’s arm, slowly moving the other one and sliding her fingers in between her friend’s.</p>
<p>There was something comforting in the way their shared silence, in how she could feel Rika’s hot breathing against her neck, and how there was a high chance Rika could hear her heartbeat.</p>
<p>No idea why her heart was beating so loudly, but she had no intention to think about this now.</p>
<p>Now that they were like that, Dalia had almost forgotten what she was supposed to be saying. Should she insist? Or just give up?</p>
<p>“It’s okay if you’re scared, you know. I’m not going to judge you if you don’t want to go. I just think it would help you feel better if you did.” her voice came out a whisper. She had no intention to force her.</p>
<p>“…I’ll go talk to her.”</p>
<p>Rika filled the silence, her voice steady, all trace of doubt gone from her tone. Dalia felt a weight on her chest and looked down to see Rika’s head cozily resting against her, smiling.</p>
<p>Dalia smiled back. “I’m glad.”</p>
<p>Before she could react, Rika put her hands around her waist and hugged her, leaning forward. Thankfully it wasn’t enough to make her flinch, but that did not take away the numerous questions that just started piling up in her head about…<em>that</em>.</p>
<p>She could feel her cheeks heating up, and blamed it on her friend’s body temperature. “Why the hug?”</p>
<p>Rika shrugged, whining and burying herself into Dalia’s neck. “Felt like it. Also, you’re cuddly.”</p>
<p>Well, now that just came out of nowhere.</p>
<p>“…<em>Cuddly?</em>”</p>
<p>“Yeah!” Rika pulled away for a bit so that they could talk face to face, “You’re like, a teddy bear or something.”</p>
<p>“I…Thank you?” the words hesitantly left Dalia’s mouth. What was she even supposed to say to that?</p>
<p>Rika never mentioned this before. And as much as she thought about it, she could not bring herself to see where exactly the girl saw the resemblance.</p>
<p>Teddy bears were cute and fluffy. She was none of those things.</p>
<p>But she’d let it slide, because it was coming from Rika and, quite frankly, she had a hard time understanding what was going inside of Rika’s brain most of the time.</p>
<p>At least it was a compliment – maybe. <em>Cuddly</em> was still a weird compliment.</p>
<p>“Rika,” she finally said after the girl made herself comfortable in her arms again, “I think we should move.”</p>
<p>“Oh!” Rika jumped out of the other’s arms almost immediately, cheeks slightly red. “Right! Bet you’ve got other things to do, too!”</p>
<p>Dalia averted her eyes, a single cough coming out of her mouth. <em>Not really</em>.</p>
<p>“I’ll call Tsubaki when I get home.” Rika promised, looking at her with a toothy grin illuminating her features.</p>
<p>To top everything off, she held out her hand in the air, waving it the littlest bit in front of her friend.</p>
<p>It only took Dalia a few seconds to understand and slam her palm against it with a confident smirk.</p>
<p>…She also had to buy Rika ice-cream on the way home to apologize for hurting her hand.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(twt: @TiaralieLilac)</p>
<p>Hope you guys enjoyed haha I have no idea if I'll manage to keep a good schedule for uploads but I'll try!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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